Theatrical



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No; 382,582. ',PatentedJMayB, 1888".

' INVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS.

N. PETERS. Phulvllhognplmr. washington lx u (No Model.) 3 Sheets-*Sheet .3@ ARTHUR, A y

THEATRIGAL APPLIANGE.

No. 382,582.' 2'PammlwdMw 8,' 1888.'

WITNESS 1 E N R.. o. T ml- A N; PErERs, Phqzunmgmpner. .washinglm D. C4

UNITED STATES PAfrRrrr OFFICE.

JOSEPH ARTHUR, or NEWYORK, N. Y.

TH EATRICAL APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 382,582, dated May 8,:1g888. Application tiled Oct )ber 1B, 1F87. Serial No. 252,691. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosEPH ARTHUR, of the cit-y, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Theatrical Appliances, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in theatrical appliances, and has for its object to provide a means whereby the interior of an engine-house may be accurately represented, and wherein the clothes covering the beds and the harness for thehorses may be manipulated simultaneously, the former being lifted from the beds and the latter dropped in position upon the horses. i

rlhe invention consists in the construction and combination of the several parts, as will s be hereinafter fully set forth, andpointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,

-in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the iigures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the scene. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the scene, and Fig. 3 a transverse vertical section.

In carrying out the invention, A represents the door of the stage, and B the set scene. The scene B is more or less rectangular, in general appearance; and it consists primarily of two side walls, a a', a rear wall, b, and ceiling b. The room thus represented is divided at the rear into two stories by a horizontal Hoor-partition, b2, Awhich partition lis provided with two apertures, C and C', one about the center and the other near one side wall, through which aperture poles D are projected, the said poles being secured respectively to the stage-door and ceiling of the scene.

In one side wall above the horizontal partition a door, E, is produced, and in the opposite side wall a window, E', is placed. Upon the horizontal partition, and in the second story of the-scene, a series of beds, F, are arranged, preferably side by side,which beds are provided with the usual mattresses and also suitable coverlets, f.

To the coverlet of each bed a rope, G, is at tached,which ropes, leading up through apertures g in the ceiling or top of the scene, are attached at equidistance to a horizontal beam,

G. The ends of a single rope, H, kare passed through the said beam from the upper face, at leach side of the center, and secured upon the under face by knots h, or otherwise, as illus'- tratedin dotted lines, Fig. l.

From the upper portion of the stage above the scene two pulleys, e and e', are suspended, one pulley being over the scene and the other to one side, as shown in Fig. 3. Over these two pulleys ahoist-rope, H', is passed, one end of which rope is attached to the beam-rope H, and the other end being adapted 'to extend vertically downward outside the scene to within a distance of the stage-door, where a weight, H2, is attached sufficiently heavy to balance the weight ofv the beam G and coverletf.

To the rear of the scene, upon the groundfloor, large double doors, K, are provided adapted to swing outward. To the right the desk, gong,.telephone, and wires are located. The left side of the scene is provided with three openings, lak', and k2, the central opening, k', of which is the largest, the others being of about the same size.

Partially in the central opening, 7c', and partiallyin the room, an engine, L, is placed, having a double set of'harness, m, attachedV thereto and held i-n position through the medium of crabs M, which crabs are secured to independent ropes m', leading perpendicularly upward through apertures in the upper ceiling of the scene, where they are attached to a short horizontal beam, m, at right angles to the aforesaid beam G, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The 85 beam m2 and the attached crabs are held in suspension by a hoist-rope, N, bifurcated at n, which bifurcated portion is attached to the said beam. The other end of the rope, passing over pulley n' n2 hung from above the scene, is led down at one side of the same and provided with a weight, O, as illustrated in Figi 3, of sufficient size to slightly overbalance the crabs, harness, and attached beam.

From the side openings, k and kt, which rep- 95 resent-"` stalls, horsesl are adapted to enter and take'a 'position at each side of the en ginepole, beneath the harness. g s

The rear portion of the scene is mounted upon strong timbers, P, as shown in Fig. 2, too provided with casters p. The forward portion of the scene, beinglight, is also provided with casters, so that the entire scene may be readily moved about the stage as occasion may demand.

In operation, the gong having sounded, the rope G is given a slight pull, which causes the coverlets to be withdrawn from all the beds simultaneously, and the horses taking their position the harness is adj usted and the crabs automatically ascend upward by reason of the mechanism herein set forth.

Having thus described my invention, whatl claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination of a stage, a mechanical structure representing an engine-house, interior beds supported by said structure having clothes laid thereon, lines attached to said clothes and to a common beam suspended above the structure, and a single hoist-rope at tached to said beam leading over pulleys suspended above the stage, and provided with an attached counterpoise-weight, all arranged to operate substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The combination of a stage, a mechanical structure representing an engine-house interior, a series of beds supported by said structure having clothes laid thereon, independent lines attached to the clothes of each bed, a single beam suspended above the structure, to which said lines are attached, a single hoistrope attached to said beam leading over .pulleys suspended above the stage, and a counterpoise-weight attached to said hoist-rope, all

adapted to operate substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination of a stage, a mechanical structure representing an engine-house interior, an engine, harness attached t0 said engine, crabs sustaining said harness connected by independent lines with a horizontal beam above the structure, and a hoist-rope attached to said beam passing over pulleys suspended above the stage and provided with a counterpoise-weight, all arranged substantially asand for the purpose herein set forth.

4. The combination, with a stage, of a mechanical structure representing an enginehouse interior provided with a horizontal partition dividing the same into an upper and lower story, the upper story provided with a series of beds having covers, the lower story provided with an engine and attached harness, and means, substantially as shown and described, for simultaneously lifting the clothes from all the beds, and for retaining the harness in an elevated position, substantially as shown and described.

JOSEPH ARTHUR.

Witnesses:

J. F. AcKER, J r., C. SEDGWICK. 

